9. The Rhythms of Rest - August 21-27
Introduction
Even imagination cannot grasp how God created everything that existed where in the beginning there’s nothing. In the creation week He exercises His supernatural creative power – the impossibility makes it possible. This is what He can do which also assures us that redemption from sin is also possible. The active work of God is going on for the salvation of human race.
EGWhite states, “Like the Sabbath, the week originated at creation, and it has been preserved and brought down to us through Bible history. God himself measured off the first week as a sample for successive weeks to the close of time. Like every other, it consisted of seven literal days. Six days were employed in the work of creation; upon the seventh, God rested, and he then blessed this day, and set it apart as a day of rest for man. {CE 190.1}
In this week’s SSLesson, we shall understand how powerful is our God and He invites us to rest as it was then existed in Eden. His wonderful invitation stands firm from the beginning and He wants us to experience that dynamic rest every week, as we celebrate the sacred day – the seventh-day sabbath.
Outline of the Study
Sunday: Prelude to Rest (Sabbath and Creation 1–Gen. 1:1-31)
Monday: The Command to Rest (Sabbath and Creation 2–Gen. 2:3; Exo. 20:8-11)
Tuesday: New Circumstances (Sabbath and Redemption 1–Exo. 16:14-31; Deut. 5:6-22)
Wednesday: Another Reason to Rest (Sabbath and Redemption 2–Exo. 20:8-11; Deut. 5:12-15)
Thursday: Keeping the Sabbath (Sabbath and Rest)
Friday: Further Thought
Prayer Thought
The Sabbath is a token between God and His people. It is a holy day, given by the Creator to us as a day upon which to rest, and reflect upon sacred things. God designed it to be observed through every age as a perpetual covenant. {CTr 110.6}
As we refrain from labor on the seventh day, we testify to the world that we are on God’s side and are striving to live in perfect conformity to His commandments. Thus we recognize as our Sovereign the God who made the world in six days and rested on the seventh. . . . The true Sabbath is to be restored to its rightful position as God’s rest day.—Manuscript 77, 1900 (Review and Herald, Oct. 28, 1902). {CTr 110.7}
Memory Verse
“Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made” (Gen. 2:3, NKJV).
Words of Assurance
By creation and by redemption they are His, and they are of value in His sight. As the shepherd loves his sheep, and cannot rest if even one be missing, so, in an infinitely higher degree, does God love every outcast soul. Men may deny the claim of His love, they may wander from Him, they may choose another master; yet they are God's, and He longs to recover His own. He says, "As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out My sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day." Ezekiel 34:12. {COL 187.1}
Sunday: Prelude to Rest (Sabbath and Creation 1–Gen. 1:1-31)
“And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.” (Genesis 2:2)
Questions to Ponder
In our previous lesson we’ve learned that there is freedom from pain, suffering, illnesses and even death in God’s kingdom. How could we experience hope before that happens?
1. Are we surprised when trials, temptations and challenges come even when we strive to be faithful to God? Why does He allow them to happen?
2. Is it because of disbelief to His promises, or it’s a process of character building?
3. Can we be partakers of God’s promises without our willingness to obey His commands?
4. Do we feel we’re obliged to do it or God put life and spirit through His words?
Inspiration declares, “Because He had rested upon the Sabbath, "God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it,"--set it apart to a holy use. He gave it to Adam as a day of rest. It was a memorial of the work of creation, and thus a sign of God's power and His love. The Scripture says, "He hath made His wonderful works to be remembered." "The things that are made," declare "the invisible things of Him since the creation of the world," "even His everlasting power and divinity." Genesis 2:3; Psalm 111:4; Romans 1:20, R. V. {DA 281.2}
Accordingly, as He made Adam the king of earth's first dominion, and all living creatures the subjects thereof, Adam's natural ability to rule them, and their natural submission to him, show that all creation, man and beast, fowl and creeping things, were divinely influenced or endowed--inspired. So when Adam reviewed the whole animal creation as it passed before him, he spent no time in studying the nature of the creatures in order to identify them, but instantaneously gave every species its name; they, in turn, immediately recognized him as their king. This Super-intelligency (such as is vouch-safed in Matthew 10:19) clearly shows that all creation was influenced by a power above and beyond its own. In short, both Adam's and the animals' understanding, came by Inspiration. Inspiration, accordingly, is not limited in Its manifestations, to man alone. {8SC1-12: 2.1.7}
What is your Life For?
Our life was given us of God, and is dependent upon Him, as the leaf is dependent upon the bough for sustenance. {FLB 30.2}
Life is a manifestation of God's love. It is a talent which God has committed to our care, and it is a very costly talent, as viewed in the light of the sacrifice of God's Son. It is an expression of the ownership of God. We are His by creation, and doubly His by redemption. We derive our life from Him. He is the Creator and the Source of all life. He is the Author of the higher life which He desires the beings formed in His image to have. {FLB 30.3}
Every one should consider the solemn question, What is my life toward God and my fellow men? No man liveth unto himself. No life is simply neutral in its results. . . . {FLB 30.4}
Preparation Before the Sabbath Comes
Everything that can possibly be done on the six days which God has given to you, should be done. You should not rob God of one hour of holy time. Great blessings are promised to those who place a high estimate upon the Sabbath and realize the obligations resting upon them in regard to its observance: "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath [from trampling upon it, setting it at nought], from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." {2T 701.3}
Make Friday the Preparation Day
On Friday let the preparation for the Sabbath be completed. See that all the clothing is in readiness, and that all the cooking is done. Let the boots be blacked, and the baths be taken. It is possible to do this. If you make it a rule, you can do it. The Sabbath is not to be given to the repairing of garments, to the cooking of food, to pleasure seeking, or to any other worldly employment. Before the setting of the sun, let all secular work be laid aside, and all secular papers be put out of sight. Parents, explain your work and its purpose to your children, and let them share in your preparation to keep the Sabbath according to the commandment. {CG 528.2}
Sabbath – The Day of Delight
When the Sabbath commences, we should place a guard upon ourselves, upon our acts and our words, lest we rob God by appropriating to our own use that time which is strictly the Lord's. We should not do ourselves, nor suffer our children to do, any manner of our own work for a livelihood or anything which could have been done on the six working days. Friday is the day of preparation. Time can then be devoted to making the necessary preparation for the Sabbath and to thinking and conversing about it. Nothing which will in the sight of Heaven be regarded as a violation of the holy Sabbath should be left unsaid or undone, to be said or done upon the Sabbath. God requires not only that we refrain from physical labor upon the Sabbath, but that the mind be disciplined to dwell upon sacred themes. The Fourth Commandment is virtually transgressed by conversing upon worldly things or by engaging in light and trifling conversation. Talking upon anything or everything which may come into the mind is speaking our own words. Every deviation from right brings us into bondage and condemnation. {CG 529.3}
Consider the following
Creation began with an arid, dark, and lifeless world (Gen. 1:1-2). Little by little, other things like light, air, land, and vegetation were created. Once the habitat was ready, God created the rhythms of the new world by placing several “clocks”: the Sun, the Moon, and the stars.
Finally, life filled the world during the following two days. Then God created a unique form of life in His image with special care: a man (‘ish) and a woman (‘ishshah). Everything is “very good.” (Gn.)
Creation was not done yet. After six days of creative activity, God rested. Note that the day of rest is considered part of the Creation week.
Monday: The Command to Rest (Sabbath and Creation 2 – Gen. 2:3; Exo. 20:8-11)
“And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.” (Genesis 2:3)
True Observance of God’s Holy Sabbath
While preparation for the Sabbath is to be made all through the week, Friday is to be the special preparation day. Through Moses the Lord said to the children of Israel: "Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord: bake that which ye will bake today, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning." "And the people went about, and gathered it [the manna], and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it." Exodus 16:23; Numbers 11:8. There was something to be done in preparing the heaven-sent bread for the children of Israel. The Lord told them that this work must be done on Friday, the preparation day. {CCh 263.1}
For more insights please click the link below.
https://sites.google.com/view/meatindueseason/history-of-the-sabbath-true-observance
Remember the Sabbath Day
The fourth commandment is explicit. We are not to do our own work upon the Sabbath. God has given man six days for labor, but He has reserved the seventh to Himself, and He has pronounced a blessing upon those who keep it holy. On the sixth day all needful preparation for the Sabbath is to be made. . .All purchases should be made and all our cooking should be done on Friday. Let baths be taken, shoes be blacked, and clothing be put in readiness. The sick require care upon the Sabbath, and whatever it may be necessary to do for their comfort is an act of mercy, and not a violation of the commandment. . . . But nothing of our own work should be permitted to encroach upon holy time. {HP 151.2}
Please read carefully the fifth chapter of Deuteronomy. God says again, “Remember [do not forget] the sabbath day, to keep it holy. . . . For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” {CTr 18.2}
The word came to them, “Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep.” Though the work on the tabernacle must be carried forward with expedition, the Sabbath must not be employed as a working day. Even the work on the Lord’s house must give way to the sacred observance of the Lord’s rest day. Thus God is jealous for the honor of His memorial of creation. {CTr 110.5}
Sabbath – Instituted in Eden Before the Fall
At the creation, when the foundations of the earth were laid, the sons of God looked with admiration upon the work of the Creator, and all the heavenly host shouted for joy. It was then that the foundation of the Sabbath was laid. At the close of the six days of creation, God rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made; and He blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because that in it He had rested from all His work. The Sabbath was instituted in Eden before the fall, and was observed by Adam and Eve, and all the heavenly host. God rested on the seventh day, and blessed and hallowed it. I saw that the Sabbath never will be done away; but that the redeemed saints, and all the angelic host, will observe it in honor of the great Creator to all eternity. {EW 217.2}
Consider the following
The last day of Creation was blessed and set apart for God’s creatures to have full communion with Him.
When sin entered the world, pain, fragility, and harshness replaced joy and peace. Therefore, humans needed that day of rest to spend quality time with their Creator more than ever.
When God summarized His Law in the Ten Commandments, He included the Sabbath for us to rest and to remember that He created us (Ex. 20:8-11).
Tuesday: New Circumstances (Sabbath and Redemption 1–Exo. 16:14-31; Deut. 5:6-22)
“Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.” (Exodus 16:26)
From the Red Seas to Sinai – God Provides
In the circumstances connected with the giving of the manna, we have conclusive evidence that the Sabbath was not instituted, as many claim, when the law was given at Sinai. Before the Israelites came to Sinai they understood the Sabbath to be obligatory upon them. In being obliged to gather every Friday a double portion of manna in preparation for the Sabbath, when none would fall, the sacred nature of the day of rest was continually impressed upon them. And when some of the people went out on the Sabbath to gather manna, the Lord asked, "How long refuse ye to keep My commandments and My laws?" {PP 296.3}
From Hunger in the Wilderness – God Sustains
The manna was as coriander seed and the color of bdellium. And the people went about and gathered it, and ground it in the mills or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it. Thus there was something to be done in the preparation even of the heaven-sent bread for the children of Israel. This was a test for them. God desired to see whether or not they would keep the Sabbath holy. The Lord told the children of Israel that this work must be done on the preparation day, Friday. On that day they were to bake that which they would bake, and seethe that they would seethe. {BEcho, February 13, 1899 par. 2}
The word of God comes down through the ages to this time. This direction from the lips of Jehovah is for our spiritual interest, or it would not have been spoken. God would have the Sabbath day kept as a day of rest and spiritual devotion; any careless inattention in reference to this is displeasing to Him. {BEcho, February 13, 1899 par. 3}
Keep holy the Sabbath day at whatever sacrifice to yourself.
From Ignorance to a Full Knowledge – God Educates
The thoughts are not to be educated to be full of what we shall eat, and what we shall drink, and wherewithal we shall be clothed. We need to prepare for the Sabbath. The clothing that we shall wear on that day is to be put in order. The boots should not be left unblacked or unpolished until the Sabbath. You dishonor God by doing this work on that day. How easy it is to allow reckless neglect of the preparation for the Sabbath! {RH, June 8, 1897 par. 7}
Cautions and Counsels from God
There is another work that should receive attention on the preparation day. On this day
1. all differences between brethren, whether in the family or in the church, should be put away.
2. Let all bitterness and wrath and malice be expelled from the soul.
3. In a humble spirit, "confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed." James 5:16. {6T 356.2}
Before the Sabbath begins,
4. the mind as well as the body should be withdrawn from worldly business. God has set His Sabbath at the end of the six working days,
5. that men may stop and consider what they have gained during the week in preparation for the pure kingdom which admits no transgressor.
6. We should each Sabbath reckon with our souls to see whether the week that has ended has brought spiritual gain or loss. {6T 356.3}
7. It means eternal salvation to keep the Sabbath holy unto the Lord. God says: "Them that honor Me I will honor." 1 Samuel 2:30.{6T 356.4}
Consider the following
Once they had been liberated from Egypt and before arriving to Mount Sinai, God reminded them of the importance of the Sabbath rest through the miracle of manna.
God was linking the Sabbath rest with His love and care for them (Deuteronomy 8:3).
Moses mentioned the Sabbath again before the Israelites entered the Promised Land, linking it to Redemption.
Wednesday: Another Reasons to Rest (Sabbath and Redemption 2–Exo. 20:8-11; Deut. 5:12-15)
“And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.” (Deuteronomy 5:15)
Freedom from Slavery
In their bondage the Israelites had to some extent lost the knowledge of God's law, and they had departed from its precepts. The Sabbath had been generally disregarded, and the exactions of their taskmasters made its observance apparently impossible. But Moses had shown his people that obedience to God was the first condition of deliverance; and the efforts made to restore the observance of the Sabbath had come to the notice of their oppressors. {PP 258.1}
Freedom from Transgression
During the entire forty years in the wilderness, the people were every week reminded of the sacred obligation of the Sabbath, by the miracle of the manna. Yet even this did not lead them to obedience. Though they did not venture upon so open and bold transgression as had received such signal punishment, yet there was great laxness in the observance of the fourth commandment. God declares through His prophet, "My Sabbaths they greatly polluted." Ezekiel 20:13-24. And this is enumerated among the reasons for the exclusion of the first generation from the Promised Land. Yet their children did not learn the lesson. Such was their neglect of the Sabbath during the forty years' wandering, that though God did not prevent them from entering Canaan, He declared that they should be scattered among the heathen after the settlement in the Land of Promise. {PP 409.3}
Freedom from Greed – Sabbath and Tithe Giving
And what more appropriate time could be chosen for setting aside the tithe and presenting our offerings to God? On the Sabbath we have thought upon His goodness. We have beheld His work in creation as an evidence of His power in redemption. Our hearts are filled with thankfulness for His great love. And now, before the toil of a week begins, we return to Him His own, and with it an offering to testify our gratitude. Thus our practice will be a weekly sermon, declaring that God is the possessor of all our property, and that He has made us stewards to use it to His glory. Every acknowledgment of our obligation to God will strengthen the sense of obligation. Gratitude deepens as we give it expression, and the joy it brings is life to soul and body.--R. & H., Feb. 4, 1902. {CS 80.2}
For deeper study on this please click below.
https://sites.google.com/view/meatindueseason/plate-passing-on-the-sabbath
Consider the following
A new generation arose after almost 40 years of the Ten Commandments revelation at Mount Sinai. This new generation was willing to enter Canaan and the promised rest (Heb. 3:8-11, 16-19).
As they were going over the Commandments, the Sabbath was linked to God’s redeeming power this time (Dt. 5:12-15).
Therefore, the Sabbath is linked to the past [Creation], the present [Redemption], and the future [a New Creation for the redeemed] (Isaiah 66:23).
The Sabbath points to Jesus, our Creator and Redeemer. We will live forever with Him.
Thursday: Keeping the Sabbath (Sabbath and Rest)
“If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words.” (Isaiah 58:13)
Sign of Christ Creative and Redeeming Power
And the Lord says, "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; . . . then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord." Isaiah 58:13, 14. To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28. {DA 289.1}
True Missionaries follow the Rhythm of Rest
I cannot too strongly urge all our church members, all who are true missionaries, all who believe the third angel's message, all who turn away their feet from the Sabbath, to consider the message of the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah. The work of beneficence enjoined in this chapter is the work that God requires His people to do at this time. It is a work of His own appointment. We are not left in doubt as to where the message applies, and the time of its marked fulfillment, for we read: "They that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in." {ChS 139.4}
Restorer of the Path – True Observance of the Sabbath
God's memorial, the seventh-day Sabbath, the sign of His work in creating the world, has been displaced by the man of sin. God's people have a special work to do in repairing the breach that has been made in His law; and the nearer we approach the end, the more urgent this work becomes. All who love God will show that they bear His sign by keeping His commandments. They are the restorers of paths to dwell in. . . . Genuine medical missionary work is bound up inseparably with the keeping of God's commandments, of which the Sabbath is especially mentioned, since it is the great memorial of God's creative work. Its observance is bound up with the work of restoring the moral image of God in man. This is the ministry which God's people are to carry forward at this time. This ministry, rightly performed, will bring rich blessings to the church.--Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 265, 266
For more insights please click the link below.
https://sites.google.com/view/meatindueseason/history-of-the-sabbath-true-observance
Consider the following
How should I rest on Sabbath, according to Psalm 92, Exodus 16:29, and Isaiah 58:13?
—Praise God (v. 1)
—Speak to others about God (v. 2)
—Sing to God (v. 3)
—Rejoice in God’s Creation (v. 4-5)
—Remember God’s righteousness (v. 6-9)
—Find new strength in God (v. 10)
—Meet God along with His Church (v. 13)
—Spend time with your family and friends (Ex. 16:29)
—Do not do your own will (Is. 58:13)
—Enjoy the Sabbath (Is. 58:13)
—Not finding our own pleasure nor our own words (Is. 58:13)
“Then you will find your joy in the Lord.” (Isaiah 58:14)
Friday: Meditation
It Takes Men of Courage
It requires moral courage to take a position to keep the commandments of the Lord. An opposer of the truth once said that it was only weak-minded people, foolish, ignorant persons, who would turn away from the churches to keep the seventh day as the Sabbath. But a minister who had embraced the truth, replied, "If you think it takes weak-minded persons, just try it." It takes moral courage, firmness, decision, perseverance, and very much prayer to step out on the unpopular side. We are thankful that we can come to Christ as the poor suffering ones came to Christ in the temple. . . . {Ev 240.2}
You have not dared to trample underfoot the commandments of God, and have stepped out on unpopular truth, let the result be what it may. Will the Saviour ever turn away to leave you to struggle alone? No, never. But He never told His disciples that they should have no trials, no self-denial to endure, no sacrifices to make. The Master was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. "Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, how that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich." We thank God that in your poverty you can call God your Father. {Ev 240.3}
From the above statements, let’s examine ourselves.
Questions to Ponder
1. How do we evaluate God relationship with His creatures as He exercise His creative power?
2. Do we feel His love as He think about our existence?
3. Can we stand amidst pressure when we are challenge to stand for God’s commandment, especially the 4th?
4. What’s the purpose of remembering the Seventh day Sabbath? Why not other days?
5. What does remember the Sabbath mean to you? Is it an avenue for relief and rest? Can we relate the rhythm of our hearts with the weekly Sabbath? What if the rhythm stops?
6. Why do we need to worship every week on the seventh day Sabbath?
7. Do we need to worship with others, when in fact we worship every day? Can’t we worship God alone in our homes?
From the Pen of Inspiration
Jesus left the royal courts of heaven, clothed his divinity with humanity, and for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich. The question with him was not, Is it convenient for me to do this?
Neither should it be with us, Is it convenient to obey God and keep the Sabbath?
The question rather should be, Is it duty?
What say the Scriptures? The Lord says in the words of my text, “Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.” Again the promise is made, “If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words; then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”
{HS 233.3}
“The Sabbath was not for Israel merely, but for the world. It had been made known to man in Eden, and, like the other precepts of the Decalogue, it is of imperishable obligation […] And when Eden shall bloom on earth again, God’s holy rest day will be honored by all beneath the sun.”
E. G. W. (The Desire of Ages, cp. 29, p. 283)